


Eye of the Hurricane

by minervajeanlupin



Category: Hamilton - Miranda
Genre: Alternate Universe - Wings, Anxiety, Coming Out, Cuddling, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Flashbacks, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Homophobia, Multi, Panic Attacks, Polyamory, Storms, Wings, fear of storms, fear of thunder
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-09
Updated: 2017-10-09
Packaged: 2019-01-15 10:02:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,354
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12318786
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/minervajeanlupin/pseuds/minervajeanlupin
Summary: Hercules, Laf, and John realize something's wrong with their boyfriend and want to help him... but he won't tell them what it is.





	Eye of the Hurricane

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Huntress8611](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Huntress8611/gifts).



> This is my first time writing for this pairing, so I hope this is okay!

Every child waited, with both great anticipation and dread, for the day that they finally got their wings. Anticipation because everyone- their older siblings, their parents, sometimes even their teachers, going off on tangents that didn't have anything to do with the curriculum- kept talking about how amazing it was to get your wings, to be able to fly, unburdened, leaving your worries behind as you left the ground for the first time. But some kids also felt dread, because what if a day came and everyone had their wings  _ except them?  _ Surely no one would respect a wingless human. And even though they were all assured that it wouldn't hurt, what if everyone was lying? What if they would be in severe pain the entire time, or something wrong would happen to their wings?

John was one of the kids who worried constantly about the latter. He just wanted to please his father, and if his wings were messed up in any way, then his father would surely abandon him. But he didn't have to worry. A few days after his fifteenth birthday, John’s back started aching and when he woke up the next day, large wings had sprouted from the area. His wings were in shades of red, orange, and yellow, all blending together beautifully. He was immensely relieved; he wouldn’t be kicked out for being the only wingless child in the area after all.

He was kicked out for coming out as gay instead.

He still winced when he thought about it, the way his father had unceremoniously shoved him out of the house without even giving him time to pack anything, with orders to “return only when you decide to be normal.” John smiled bitterly at the memory. He was never going to be “normal.” But at least he was happy.

He resumed petting Lafayette's hair when he nudged him impatiently. The two of them watched Hercules trying to convince Alex not to stay up till past midnight every night, too tired to join the argument. Hercules could handle it.

John snorted at the thought of what his father  would say if he could see him now. He certainly wouldn't be pleased- not only was John in a poly relationship, it was with three other men, who were all immigrants to boot.

He smiled contently and snuggled up closer to Laf, whose white wings with splotches of blue and red (they all like to joke that they were that color because of how much Laf loved France and America) were curled protectively around the two of them. His own brightly colored wings fluttered slightly, showing how pleased he was. He was happy to just sit there with Laf, watching Alex stand on his desk so he could be taller than Hercules while arguing.

There was a sudden clap of thunder and they all jumped. Alex fell off the desk and would have probably have been seriously injured if Hercules’ reflexes hadn't been so good.

“You okay, mon petit lion?” Laf asked worriedly, rising up from the ground. 

“Yeah,” Alex said, trying to sound stoic but his voice quavered. Hercules set him on his feet and looked him over, his brown and gold flecked wings ruffled with worry. Alex rolled his eyes good-naturedly.

“I’m fine, Herc,” he said. There was another loud clap of thunder and Alex flinched, his blue-green wings twitching slightly. The action wasn’t missed by the other three and they exchanged worried and confused glances

“Anyway, I have to finish up this essay for Washington,” Alex continued brusquely as he began to gather up and sort his papers. There were more sounds of thunder and flashes of lightning now, and Alex kept flinching away every time there was a loud sound, trying to keep his face impassive but his boyfriends knew him well enough to see the turmoil of emotions underneath his facade. His wings kept fluttering, as though they were sensing danger (and perhaps they were- wings were independent from the rest of the body and somewhat sentient; scientists still didn’t fully understand how they worked).

“Alex-” John began when there was the loudest crash of thunder so far and a flash of lightning, illuminating their faces. Alex jumped and began to tremble, dropping the papers he had gathered.

“Alex!” John ran over to him and enveloped him in his arms. Alex didn’t resist, still trembling, his eyes wide with fear. Herc and Laf quickly made their way over as well.

“Are you okay?” Herc asked.

“What’s wrong, mon chéri?” Laf queried. Alex stared at all three of them, before looking at the ground and sighing.

“I, um. I don’t like storms,” he explained shortly. The three of them exchanged confused looks over his head.

“Well, that’s okay. But don’t work then, okay?” Herc told him, clearly concerned.

“I’m fine!” Alex insisted. He began picking up the papers he had dropped off the floor.

“Alex, you’re clearly not. Please tell us what’s wrong,” John told him. He was the most blunt of the group apart from Alex.

“Stop worrying! I’m fine, seriously!” Alex started making his way out of the room and the other three trailed behind, determined to help their boyfriend.

“Alex, tell us what happened!” Laf cried earnestly. There was another deafening crack of thunder and Alex froze, dropping his papers for the second time in the past few minutes and collapsing, curling into a ball with his wings covering him protectively.

Herc, Laf, and John ran over to him, worried as to what was happening. They could hear him sobbing. They all made sure to give him space to get composed but stroked his wings gently to comfort him. It was an evolutionary tactic, and Alex soon took a deep breath and sat up, his wings folding back.

“I… was in a hurricane when young,” he explained quietly. “And every time I hear flashes of thunder I imagine the day it all started, all the people who died and all the chaos it had caused. And I sort of… freak out.”

The three of them exchanged horrified and guilty looks. They felt terrible that they had never known this, that Alex had been forced to survive every storm on his own, feeling as though his world was crumbling and as though he was going to die.

“You should have told us,” Hercules told him gently. “It’s okay, we all have our problems, and we just have to take care of one another.”

“Yeah, why do you think I never talk about my family in South Carolina?” John added. “We all have things we’d like to forget in the past. And since we can’t do that, the next best thing is just to talk about it with the people you love and let them help you.” Alex lifted his head and gave them all a watery smile.

“Thank you,” he murmured.

“Let’s go back to the couch and cuddle until the storm’s over,” Herc suggested.

“I call sitting in the middle!” Laf immediately called out.

“You can tell us about the time Angelica slapped Jefferson at a social event,” John told Alex. They had heard the story a million times and it was significantly less amusing now, but he knew it would improve Alex’s mood. Sure enough, Alex laughed and slowly got up. All three of them supported him and led him to the couch.

Alex smiled gratefully at his boyfriends as they recounted amusing stories from their youth, making sure to talk loud enough to drown out the sound of thunder but not too loud, as they didn’t want to startle him. He leaned sleepily against Laf, who was sitting next to him, and Laf started stroking his wings comfortingly, laughing at an animated story Herc was telling about all the weird customers he got at his tailoring business. All the chatter soon became background noise as Alex closed his eyes. His boyfriends realized a few minutes later what had happened and exchanged smiles.

“Well, at least we finally got him to sleep on time for once,” John murmured as his boyfriends laughed quietly.


End file.
